Beyond Neptune: What Is Past Neptune, the Kuiper Belt and Oort Cloud Explained for Adult Space Readers

Beyond Neptune lies the solar system's most scientifically extraordinary and least explored region. Pluto, revealed by New Horizons in 2015 to have active geological processes, towering ice mountains, and a possible subsurface ocean, is just the most famous of the hundreds of thousands of icy worlds in the Kuiper Belt. Sedna orbits with a perihelion so distant that no known force could have placed it there. Comets carry the organic chemistry of the early outer solar system directly to our telescopes. And an undiscovered planet the size of a super-Earth may be orchestrating the orbits of the most distant known objects from hundreds of AU away. Beyond Neptune is a comprehensive, scientifically rigorous guide to the outer solar system for adult readers who want the full depth of one of planetary science's most rapidly evolving fields.Each chapter includes a Notable feature and the book includes a 38-term specialist glossary. Perfect for: Adults fascinated by planetary science and the outer solar system, readers who followed the New Horizons mission and want deeper context, science enthusiasts who want rigorous depth without mathematics, and anyone captivated by the frontier of solar system exploration.Beyond Neptune is where the solar system's oldest secrets are preserved - and where its most important questions are still open.